Abstract. We have developed a satellite data derived ''Night Light Development Index''
(NLDI) as a simple, objective, spatially explicit and globally available
empirical measurement of human development derived solely from nighttime
satellite imagery and population density. There is increasing recognition
that the distribution of wealth and income amongst the population in a
nation or region correlates strongly with both the overall happiness of that
population and the environmental quality of that nation or region. Measuring
the distribution of wealth and income at national and regional scales is an
interesting and challenging problem. Gini coefficients derived from Lorenz
curves are a well-established method of measuring income distribution.
Nonetheless, there are many shortcomings of the Gini coefficient as a
measure of income or wealth distribution. Gini coefficients are typically
calculated using national level data on the distribution of income through
the population. Such data are not available for many countries and the
results are generally limited to single values representing entire
countries. In this paper we develop an index for the co-distribution of
nocturnal light and people that is derived without the use of monetary
measures of wealth and is capable of providing a spatial depiction of
differences in development within countries.